Improvement in platoon-batteries



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WM. BILLINGHURST ND J. .REQUA, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YQRK.

lMPROVEMENT iN PLATOON-BATTERIES.

.specification forming part of Letters Patent N o. 36,448, datedSeptember 16, 1862.

To all whom it may concern: Be itknown that we, WM. BILLiNGHURsT and J.REQUA, otRochestenin the countyof Monroe and State of N ew*` York, haveinvented a new and useful Rifle-Battery; and We do hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification,.inwhichQ Figure 1 is a plan or top vieWlofl theinvention'. Fig. 2 isaverlical section taken through .the parts in thedirection of the red line y in Fig. l. Fig. 3 isa rear elevation of thecartridge holder or clamp, shown open and containing theJ curtrid ges.Fig. 4 is .a longitudin ahcentral section ofthe cartridge-cases, fullsize.m Y

Similar letters of .reference indicate corre- `spending'parte in all-thefigures.

The nature of this invention will be understood by reference to thedrawings andspecication,and its construction and operation are asfollows:

The hed A is of iron, and may be of skeleton form. There is'arecess, B',made inthe `'upperi'aee of the bed transversely, to receive. thepivot-shank or projection C ot' the barrels B. This recess -is enlargedon the front side feircularly under each barrel, as seen in Fig. 1,

.Xed thereto. They are all pivoted to the bars (by threaded shanks J andnuts K,) which' are .placed diagonally under the barrels, as seen inFig. 1, and are halved together, forming a hinged joint under the centerbarrel,

where they are connected to the rod M, and byl that to the lever L. Thebarrels B are rafdiated, as shown by the red dotted lines in Fig. 1, bymoving the said lever'L toward the rear of the battery, and viceversa.-

The breech-bar E is made from a solid bar,-

and is entirely detached from the barrels and` also from the cartridges.There is a hole, s, drilled through it longitudinally, as indicated bythe dotted lines in lfig. l, and branches leading therefrom to thecenters of the countersinks opposite each barrel, which receive thespherical heads h of the cartridge-cases, and one from the cone fintersecting the bran ch op,- posite.' This bar is couutersunk at themouth of'each branch to tit the sphericalform ofthe heads h, as shown inFig. 2 and by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. The ends of the hole or tube aare closed bythe transverse pins b.

The llame passes from the cone F to the car tridge opposite, and fromthat back into the tube s, and, communicating through all the otherbranches, produces a simultaneous discharge. .g

There is a movable head, O, hinged to the plate P on both sides, andthey slide in a slot (indicated by the dotted lines n) made through thesides N for that purpose. The breech-bar- E is connected to one. head bytwo dowels, r, andv to the other by the sliding bolt a, which allows thebar t'o bc removed at any time, and in case of a forced abandonmentitshould he taken away, thus rendering the battery entirely useless toits captors.

The plate D is hinged to each ot' the heads O by a pivot or-screw, c,(seen in Fig. 2,) and it is provided with a lip, c, to catch the lip cot' the plate W, and the rear corners are provided with journals R, thatreach through the levers S. The latter are h'xed to the roller T (whichconstitutes their fulcruin) by the' pinsj. The. rear edge of the plate Pdrops in front of the heavy clutch x on the bed A, as seen in Fig. 2,and it therebyeonstitutes a solid backing to the breech-bar E, and whenit is operated it att'ords an automatic adjustment to the hammerU, ashereinafter shown. The center ot the journals R drops below that of theroller-T before the plate strikes the ledge t, so that thel levers Sactas diagonal braces to keep the plate. P in its proper position duringthe discharge.

The hammer U is pivoted to the plate P by means of the screw lo, whichpasses through the. bracket V, and eccentrically through the cam-shapedportion ot' the hammer into the plate; and as the rear edge of the plateis raisedhy the movement of the levers the head p' ofthe hammer isthrownback from the cone toward the position shown by the dotted linesin Fig. 1, by the upper corner of the bar'E strikingy the .cam-faccia ofthe hammer'tothe right of the line of its axis, thelalter being soarranged as to lcause the said cani-'face to just touch the barE whenthe head pis against-the cone f, andby this construction and relative.

arrangement of the hammer. with the breechbar the possibility of apremature discharge vof the battery is entirely prevented, because thehead p cannot touch the cap until the backing-plate P is down to itsplace. The hammer is operated by a lanyard in the ordinary Way.

There is a thin metallic rack orguide, W,

1iig's.2 and 3, placed between the sliding or breech bar E and the bedA. The frontand 'rear edges are turned up, as seen in Fig. 2, and thedistance between the two lips should be.

equal to about one-half thelength of the cartridgecases added to` the,width offthe. bar E.

, By making the guide of such a length it only traverses about half asfar as the bar E, 'which leaves the scallopedrest 'about midway be.tween lthe' end ofthe barrels and the bar when" `the latter iswithdrawn.

The front lip Vis sc alloped, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3,the number of scallops corresponding to the 4number of cartridges. Thelatter. are guided.-

by the said rack or guide W, each in to itsrespective chamber or barrel,and it also serves to withdraw the empty cases,

, The cartridge holder or clamp Dis composed.

of two wings, also made of thin sheet-iron, and hinged together. j Theopenings l through the wings are made .to receive the cases gof thecartridges, but not to admitthe an'ge m, which is clasped. between thewingsfof the v clamp when closed, lwhereby 'they -maybe moved about, aswhen being transferredfrom the caisson-tothe battery, Snc., without'danger of tie- ,ing misplaced or lost out.

' The cartridge-cases are composed .of a'thin metallic cylinder, g.(Shown full sizeiiilFig. 4.) Oneend is closed by aslid metallicifh'ead,h, the voutside of which is' madels'pherical" to allow the barrels Bto'radiatewithout impairingthe joint ,between they cartridge-headfand-'the bar E, which is a very important feature. The

head h is encircled by. a projecting ange, m. lhe cylindrical portion ofthe head is made to fit snugly into the' case g, and isbor'e'dvoutaboutin form of a parabola,thus leaving-- an exceedingly thin yielding edge,which insures a perfectly tight joint between the cylinder of the head hand the case g. The heads maybe soldered in.

, The object of making the head so heavyvis to give proper .strengthtothat portion of the carrid ge-ca'sehecessaril y intervenin g between 5the endof the barrels B and the breech-bar E,

which spade' is.A occupied by the @ampio :ma the scalloped rest or guideW.- These cases may be loaded with patched bullets, and awad also,

if desired,saturated 'with grease, which allows any number lofdischarges without stopping to clean the barrels. v

A quantity of 'holders or clamps,D,.are supplied with chargedcartridges'and placedin.

suitable caissons lfor transportation. There isl a sight, d,tixcd to thecenter barrel, and there maybe another attached tothe rear of the bed A-in the center. The wholev battery is de-j signed to be -placed uponalight,field-ca rriag`e,`

and 'to be 'provided with an elevating-screw", 'similar to ordnance.

.Summaryofl the operation: The'leijersS are vthrown lbaelaplacing theplate P in the position indicated by the` dotted lines in Fig, 2,

which also removes'tbe breech-bar E to its .by Letters Patent, is-

rear position; A clamp'containingthe-cartridges is thenplaced-between-the breech-bar .and the barrels, and the levers Sthrowrilorward, which forces-the cartridges into their re-`screws-ortogglc-joints operated by 'a l:sliding bar;,but u vWhat weclaim as new, and desire'to secure v1'. The combination :of the' barrelsB, oper# atedas described, with the cartridges g and breech-bar E.

2. The employment of the cartridge holder manner` andl for the purposeset'forth.

i 3. The employment or useof the rest orguide W, constructed andoperating substantially-in the manner and for the purposes specified..

4. The employment of the breech-bar E, in combination with thebacking-plate P.,wh,en they are arranged and operated so astoautomatically throw the hammer Uback.A

WM. BILLINGHURST.. J OSEPHUS: REQUA.

Witnesses WM. S. LoUGHBoRoUGH,

JOHN L. REQUA.

or clamp D, constructed substantially in the-

